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Sleuth 23/11/2012: Mancini, Wiggins, Avalanche, Cranes

The week in summary from the chirpy commentator

Published on November 23rd 2012.

Sleuth is a sideways glance at the city every week, it's the truth, but Sleuth's truth. He's several people all at once. We give £25 for every story/rumour and piece of absurdity you find for us to publish. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious. We ask for the money back if any legal action follows.Follow Sleuth on twitter@mcrsleuth

Sleuth's Terrible Time In the Tunnels

Sleuth was in the Great Northern Tunnel in Manchester showing a group around when this happened. Annoying.

Sleuth's Terrible Time Over Lunch

Sleuth was in Carluccio's enjoying his lunch, a lovely tortelloni di cervo, and this happened. Annoying.

Sleuth's Going To Help Clean Up Spinningfields

Sleuth was just about to have a go on the helter-skelter in Spinningfields when this happened. Annoying. He's promised to help clean up though.

Sleuth's Commitment Of The Week

Sleuth promises never to use the above app ever again.

Avalanche

Avalanche Launch

Sleuth went to the new Italian restaurant on Booth Street in the city centre - in the old Lime Bar. It was launch night. It was so packed all Sleuth could see were huge light-fittings, a lot of white walls and ladies with big hair. He never made it to the bar it was too busy, the food was all eaten before it got anywhere near Sleuth. At least there was a fish counter that looked promising - top picture. Sleuth left hoping all the people there weren't just liggers but would return and pay for a meal in the weeks ahead. Confidential will of course return and tell you what it was like.

Dilli Doesn't Dally

Altrincham’s excellent Dilli restaurant (Stamford New Road) is taking a firm line. They think people are playing safe but Dilli’s not going to play their game. “Maybe it’s a result of the general economic situation but people are more reluctant to try new food,” said manager Pankaj Sharma. “We are asked about food that doesn’t exist in India. New customers want to order madras curry and prawn rogan josh. Dishes that are a pure Western invention. But that is not what Dilli is about. We are going to serve the real thing.” Sleuth likes the attitude and couldn’t agree more. Chicken tikka masala fans can sod off, there are plenty of places that do that. After all Confidential had a row about this earlier in the year - click here.

Dilli Delights

Buy Buy Cranes Of Salford

Good story this week from Salford Star -click here. The landmark cranes at Salford Quays are going to be scrapped by Salford City Council after years of prevarication over their fate. These reminders of the hard working past, these blasts of an older reality, are going to destroyed because according to a Salford City Council report they 'now detract from the Quays vista' and should be replaced with 'new heritage interpretation features'. Lord please no. Sleuth is never sentimental about old Manchester and Salford things, but he shudders at the last phase, involving, no doubt, some twisted piece of metal with some out of context pensioner's quotes underneath, to show community involvement. Look at Sleuth from a couple of week's ago about the steel towers in Greengate. Read the Salford Star article folks and see how wrong all this sounds.

Salford Quays Cranes

The Bikerooms And Dosh

So last week Sleuth popped into the new Bikerooms on Deansgate to have a look at the stock. Sleuth loves bikes. He particularly loves annoying drivers at traffic lights by being loose in his interpretation of red lights. In The Bikerooms Sleuth sighed. There wasn't a bike under a £1000 and they all had names that Sleuth had never heard of. Apparently these special machines are all made by magical dwarves in far away lands. They are lighter than air.

The Bikerooms And Famous People

On the way into The Bikerooms, Sleuth had bumped into Bradley Wiggins (bumping into Wiggins is all the rage). Sleuth talked to the owner of the shop, an eccentric chap who looked like a farmer, and who described himself thus, "I am a potter from the Staffordshire town of Stone but now I sell the best bikes." "Get a lot of famous people in here, do you?" asked Sleuth nodding to the retreating form of Wiggins. "We've had Roberto Mancini today and tomorrow Patrick Viera and Shay Given are coming in. Although being a potter I had to be told who they were," he said. "Anybody from United?" asked Sleuth, confused by all the potter stuff. The owner/potter looked confused as well. Maybe he'd not heard of Manchester United thought Sleuth. Being a bike selling potter.

Sleuth And The Rude Chant Of The Week

Sleuth went to watch City draw with Real Madrid. He was with his City supporting son and City should have won. In the second half Cristiano Ronaldo kept falling over and throwing his arms in the air. Sleuth was amused to hear the City fans responding with a mass singalong of "You're just a shit Lionel Messi." Those footballing wags eh? Wags as in jokers of course, not as in several of the women at the Avalaunche launch.

City v Real Madrid

And finally Sleuth's views of the week...

Gloriously sunny Friday morning recalling John Ruskin's words carved on a Knutsford wall: 'Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life.'

View from the Holiday Inn Express of the city centre with the scallop shells of Oxford Road Station from 1960

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"Reader" wonders why "Sleuth" bothered to cover the story about the cranes if he doesn't really care about old stuff. Perhaps they were designed by an eminent architect or operated by an important person - Sleuth's usual criteria for preservation.

"Reader" thinks this unlikely and so considers Sleuth's interest in these cranes about as genuine as the Salford Star's; or indeed Salford Council.

I think Sleuth said he doesn't get sentimental about old stuff. In other words you shouldn't just keep things because they are old but because they have value. The cranes have value in linking in an epic way to the past.

Calum McGNovember 30th 2012.

The cranes should have been rescued years ago. Nice one, SCC.

AnonymousNovember 23rd 2012.

"You're just a shit Lionel Messi" is about as funny as SoccerAM (not funny at all). The chant could apply to literally any footballer in the world.